Container



CONTAINER Filed Mamh 249, 1935 INVENTORSZ Patented Get. 3, 1939 zanata amicaa ooN'rAiNna Comrad Hermann, Opladen, and Alex Kneip, Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, assig'nors to Winthrop Chemical Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 29, 1935, Serial No. 13,738

in Germany April 3.0, 1934 2 Claims.

The present invention relats to containers."

Glass vessels, bottles and other containers are U generally closed by means of stoppers or cap-I sules, while ampoules are usually closed by fusionc* Both methods of closing are associated with certain drawbacks. For instance, the fusion-of am-f poules which contain combustible substances is]l`` extremely dangerous, while stoppers or capsules frequently provide an insufliciently tight closure;

more especially is this so when the materials used for closing the containers undergo chemical or physical changes (for example vcontraction): owing to the action of the substances contained by the vessels. An improved closure is provided by the invention according to which an ampoule, a glass vessel or other container having a neck is closed b'y means of a seal consisting of a body, which partly seals the vessel, and another body which tightly dd seals it. Tubular vessels having no neck are also sealed in thesame manner.

The invention is carried out in one manner by forming a contraction in the neck of a vessel or the end of the tube, the contraction-being such w as to provide in the neck or tube end a seating surface for a closing body which is then loosely placed thereom This body may, for example, be spherical. The open part of the neck o r tube end above the loosely inserted body is then closed w by an inert liquid or plastic material which subsequently hardens and tightly close's the vessel,v

. examples of` such materials being molten metals,

amalgams and cements.

Suitable materials for tightly closing the 'vessele are the alloys known bythe names Wood's metal and Rose metal, and, amal'gams oflthese alloys having a mercury content of about fto per cent; other materials are water-glass cew ments, cements of lead oxide and glycerine and fused resins.

The neck or tube 'end is not necessarily contracted and in such case there may be used wadding or glass wool as ther loosely closing body sa w serves to support the tightly closing ma.-

(oi. als-si) The invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in Which;

Fig. 1 shows the neck of an ampoule contracted at l with a ball 2 resting on the contracted part.

Fig. 2 shows acomplete ampoule' with a con- 5 tracted neck and closed, by a ball 2.

Fig. 3 shows the same axnpoule shown in Fig. 2

s with the 'near above the ban 2 closed ngmly by a material d. The ampoule th us sealed may be opened by breaking off the neck which is 30 scratched forthis purpose by means of a file at the contraction l or at the line 3.

i Fig. 'i shows the .neck of an ampoule Which has not been formed with a contraction and which contains wadding or glass wool 5 as a loosely closing body below the tightly closing material 4.

We claim;

l. A sealed package comprislng a container having a neck; a loosely fitting non-sealing body within and at a substantial distance from the outer extremity of the neck; and Within the neck and filling the space thei'ein outwardly of the coarsely fitting closing body for a distance sufficient to provide a plug, a body of an alloy containing lead, bismuth and tin which expands upon solidification, the latter body combining with the inner surafce of the container neck to provide a non-removable seal of the container.

2. A sealed package compri'singa container having a neck; a contraction in said neck at a substantial distance from the outer extremity of the latter; inthe neck and adjacent but outwardly disposed'with respect to said contraction a spherical coarselyfltting non-sealing closing body having a diameter intermediate that of the .neck and that of the contraction; and, within the neck and fllling the space therein outwardly of the coarsely fitting closing body for a distance sufiicient to form a plug, a body of an alloy containing lead, bismuth and tin which expands 40 upon.l solidiflcation, the latter body combining with the inner surface of the container neck to provide a permanent and'non-removable seal of the container.

CONRAD HOFMANN. ALEX KNEIP. 

